On September 11, 1856, the school
inspectors of the town of Ellington organized a school district consisting
of sections 3,4,5,6,7, 8,9,18, township 14, range 10, to be known as
district No. 1. At the first annual meeting of the district, Waterman
Goodsell offered a site for a school house in the west half of northwest
quarter of section 9, township 13, range 10, which was accepted.

It was voted to raise $25 for
material for a school house: that a three months school be had, beginning
January 1st, and that the school officers employ a woman teacher. Miss
Myra Selden, now Mrs. John Johnson, of Vassar, was employed, and the
following winter taught the first school in Ellington, in a small log
building, near where the village is.

From the annual school report of
the town of Ellington for the year ending September 4, 1882, the following
facts obtained: Directors for the ensuing year, V. W. Mallory, B.F. Eayrs
and Joseph W. Crea. the number of districts is three, on whole and two
fractional, with one brick and two frame school houses. Whole number of
children of school age, 222: number attending school during the year,
1873.

GEORGE SCHOOL

Special thanks to Donald Price for loaning
this information that was written by Mrs.
Edna Bush mother of
Robert Bush.

This school district, No . 3 Fractional,
Ellington and Almer was organized in 1866 or 1867, but the first annual
school meeting record we have is September 5, 1870. At this meeting Mr.
Hopkins was elected director. They voted 3 months winter and three
months summer terms. James Pattison was to deliver by December, 10 cords
of wood at 74 cents per cord. There was a school house 1 1/2 miles north of our present site, where
Sutton church now stands, but there was only a blazed trail through the
woods. Parents felt that it was too far to send children alone, so this
school district was organized. At first it was called the Carpenter school
but later the George school.

The first school was located on the south west corner of Nate George's
farm. It was a small frame building. Home made seats and desks were on two
sides of the room and a recitation seat was directly in front of desks
facing the center of the room. The seats were made long enough for several
children to sit in a row. When the center ones had to go to their classes,
those on the outside had to move. There was a large box stove in the
center of the room. A home made table, which was the teachers desk, was
back of the stove and towards one end of the room. The outside door
was at the other end of the room. Each pupil put their
dinner pail on the floor under their seat. It is needless to say that sometimes
these pails caused confusion. We are told that during the winter terms of long ago that some of the boys
were very hard to manage. It was very common for young men as old as
21 years to go and try to perfect themselves in the Three R's along
with a lot mischief. There was a large pond back of the school house and the children made good
use of it winter times skating. One of the early teachers, Eugene Wilder,
was a very fancy skater and would cut the American Eagle in the ice with his
skates.

On June 1st, 1871 a special meeting was
called to move the school site. The ground was very muddy around the
building and some thought it would be better to change the location.
According to records, there was some dissension in regard to this matter.
Mr. D. Gordon was appointed to get legal information on this matter.

On June 10th another meeting was
called and Mr. Gordon reported, that if the site was forced , the district
would have to pay the cost. They voted that the school site be on the N.E.
corner of S. E. quarter of Sec. 24 of Almer Twp. and that the district pay
$5 per annum for the use of 1/2 acre for school purposes.
At the annual school meeting held September 4, 1871, it was voted to
rescind the vote to move the school house and accept the offer of Mr.
Jesse Dunn, giving the district the right to lease the present site for
five years for school purposes. It may be of interest to some to know that this old school house was
turned into a store an dwelling house. A curtain separated the store from
the home. Her the late Darius Gould was born. His father was the store
keeper.

At the annual school meeting held September
4th, 1876 the motion to change the school site to the South part of the
N.W. quarter of Section 19, town 13, North, Range 10 East, was carried by
acclamation. This site cost $125. Jesse Dunn was authorized to act as
purchasing agent for the site. Another small frame building was built.

At the annual school meeting held September
3, 1877, it was voted to build a line fence between the school site and E.
J. Carpenters farm. "This fence was to be 5 boards high with a 2 X 4
scantling hemlock nailed on top with 20 penny nails to be not less than 6
inches in diameter and set not less than 30 inches in the ground. The post
and boards enclosing the school house now are included in the job. The
fence to be done in a workman like manner and to be completed by the first
day of November, A.D. 1877." the job was let to Marvin Cookingham at 60
cents per rod.
In January 1882, this building was burned. A tramp stayed in the
building one night an about four o'clock in the morning the building
burned with all the children's books. there was no place to hold school,
so there was none until a new brick building was built, which is the
present one. The district
was bonded for $1000 and James Pattison, G. W. VanSycle, and Wm Tomlinson
went bondsmen for this sum. E. J. Carpenter, John D. Hayes and Wm.
Schriber were elected as a building committee with full power to make all
contracts and direct the work until it was completed and furnished. On
September 4, 1882, the building committee was discharged from their
obligations, everything being completed.

Frank Richards was the contractor and Mr. Hopkins and Wm. Leider were the
carpenters. The building began to spread in in 1899 and in 1900, Mr. J. L.
Palmer made rods which were put lengthwise and crosswise in the building.
These rods cost $4 time, Henry Drake dug a drain on the two sides of the
building , so the water could run away from the foundation.
In 1891, the new porch was built and in 1915 the cement floor and steps
were put in. In 1905 a drilled well, 214 feet deep, was put down, by Mr.
Glover at the cost of $250. It may be interesting to know that in early
days, there was a spring on the south east side of the grounds. Here
teamsters from Saginaw and points north of us depended on this good cold
water for themselves and teams.

In 1906, George M. Proctor shingled the
present school house for $60.50.

In 1923, a new hard wood floor
was laid costing $85.

In 1930, a new floor furnace
was installed by F. A. Riley, at the cost of $165.

In 1931, a new fire proof roof
was put on the building at the cost of $126.56.

It was
customary in the early schools to have a winter term which began late in
the fall and lasted for four or five months. The summer term began in May
or June and lasted for three months. Usually a man taught the winter term
and received from $30 to $35 per month. A lady teacher taught summers and
received from $18 to $25 per month.

The school was consolidated
with the Caro School District, so it was closed. In september of 1965, it
was opened for a first grade that was bused out from Caro. Stephania
Miklovis, sept 1965 to Feb 1966.

Then it was permanently closed.
Eventually it was sold. First to Jack LaFave, then to the Eagles club.
Later it was sold to Mark Kish, who remodeled it into a house . He then
sold it to Derrick Deen, who at this time in 1992 still lives there.